Items

• 
  2022-04-21

  Effects of COVID - even in April 2022

  This a screenshot of a Twitter post. In the post, @DrumUltimA describes how even in April 2022, COVID-19 is still having major effects on different aspects of his life. He also points out that he disagrees with so many precautionary measures being dropped. These viewpoints are important as it shows that even though many mandates, regulations, and laws meant to prevent COVID-19 have been lifted, COVID-19 is still around and causing many problems for people.
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  2020-05-21T22:21

  Lockdown Jigsaw Puzzles 2020

  One of the ways that my family and I relaxed in the evenings during the first COVID-19 lockdown was by doing jigsaw puzzles. Here are just two examples of the many we completed throughout 2020. We set up in the living room using a board of sorts (cardboard from the box our television had been in) to do it on so that all the pieces would stay within one area and the whole thing would be portable if we needed the table back. The map one (left) had 1500 pieces and was the first one we completed in May. The second puzzle pictured here (right) was a particular struggle because it did not come with a picture of what the finished puzzle looked like. We all worked on our own little sections before figuring out how they all came together. It was an incredibly satisfying moment to see the puzzle completed finally knowing how each of our little parts fit together to create it. Jigsaw puzzles have been something that have helped me relax for years. There was often one at my high school library that I would do to have a break from my studies in order to take my mind off things. As it was in the library multiple people would join in making it very much a collective effort. Thus, doing jigsaws with other people, in this case my family, during these hard times was one of the things which helped keep me relatively sane during 2020. It was a very rewarding activity that allowed for greater engagement with one another than simply watching television for hours on end.
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  2021-04-18

  The Beginning of the End!? Corona Culture Spring 2021

  These items are a sampling of documents and links to news articles and public event dates that chronicle the reopening of some parts of the United States in spring 2021. One year after the start of the pandemic (the anniversary itself celebrated in various media), Texas and other parts of the U.S. were trying to return their businesses and services to more normal conditions. A community college's plan for reopening its main campus, a news article about a baseball park increasing its capacity (and having a sold out game), a listing of 2021 tour dates for popular musicians, and a town's decision to end its mask mandate all tell the story of people wanting to return to normal living. However, both government leaders and ordinary people could disagree about whether it was good to relax COVID restrictions as the announcement by a local mayor and the decision of a local school board suggests. These items reflect the challenges of returning to Pre-COVID lifestyles because not everyone was united in the belief that it was safe to live normal lives. This illustrates the interesting conflict between holding on to what makes people be or feels safe and those who believe such restrictions are unnecessary now.
• 
  2021-02-28

  #JOTPYLesson from gedco45

  #JOTPYLesson For me, the pandemic has forced me to slow down a bit, and to take more time for myself than I'm used to - when the pandemic began I felt incredibly guilty for taking more than 30 mins for myself to relax with. Now, I'm kind of forced to acknowledge that I deserve to rest or even just have fun every now and then, that I have value when I'm not working. @lordfrogman @amjugan @dankzestykale @kategillis @father_keaton
• 
  2021-04-15

  Going Wild

  I know the vaccine isn’t a golden ticket. I know you can still contract COVID. I know we don’t really know yet if a vaccinated person can spread it (which is why my kids are still on Distance Learning). And I know there are at least 30 countries where not one person has been vaccinated. I do know all of this. However, somewhere in my subconscious I am relaxing. I have not had a boba from 85 Degrees in 13 months and though my husband did bring home a Starbucks for me recently, that was pretty much it for the past year. Today, I somehow ended up with both. During our lunch walk, my bestie asked if I wanted to walk to Starbucks. We haven’t done that in over a year and I have to be honest, it felt amazing. Even though while we walked there, we said snarky stuff like “remember how we’re in a worldwide pandemic?” it still felt sort of normal. Then, my husband decided to pick up bread on the way home from 85 Degree and brought me a grapefruit tea with lychee jelly. My tastebuds are so happy and I’m barely asking myself if the person who made the drink has COVID. So I must be relaxing. Then again, I sprayed my boba cup with Lysol before touching it and dumped my Starbucks into a mug and reheated it before I drank it, soooo maybe not.
• 
  2021-03-19

  Wait, Do I Remember How to Drive?

  As I was making my list of things to have for going back to work in person for the first time in over a year, I asked myself “wait, do I remember how to drive?” On March 16, 2020, I drove to my classroom under the impression we would be working from school without our students until school reopened for the kids after spring break. By the time I got there, everything had changed. We had a quick full staff meeting telling us to take everything we need home, check our email later, and that everyone was to stay home indefinitely. I have not worked from my school site since. So, I drove home, showered, and put my keys where I always do. They remained there for 368 days. Tonight at dusk, realizing that my commute is coming back in two days, I grabbed my keys and made my husband ride shotgun. I was actually really nervous, because what if you can forget to drive at age 40? I also realized I did not drive a single day of my 39th year, which is sort of a cool statistic. I timed my drive for dusk because I teach zero period, and due to daylight savings it will still be dark when I begin my commute Monday morning. I am extremely happy to report that driving is a skill that sticks with you - especially important in Southern CA, where we drive EVERYWHERE. I’m still a little anxious for Monday morning. Not only will I be back to work in person for the first time, but my commute will be the first time I have been completely alone in over a year. Sure, when I teach remotely, I am upstairs alone in the room, but everyone else is home doing similar things in other rooms. When I run on the treadmill, though I have my headphones in, people mill in and out. I have not been totally alone this entire quarantine. I imagine my 30 minute commute will be either completely anxiety inducing or end up being the most relaxing and best part of my day! *Disclaimer: I am NOT flipping off the camera, that’s my pinky, I’m throwing a Shaka.
• 2021-02-01

  Covid-19 in One Word VI: Exhausting

  This word comes from a peer, an over-worker overthinker, someone who lost much in the pandemic. Exhausting: extremely tiring Too much of anything is tiring. Too much of a bad thing is exhausting. It’s like never being able to shut your eyes and take a rest. There is no break from living in a pandemic. Leave the house for a break? Mask. Relax with friends? Social distance. Go out for a fun time? Entertainment closed. We are not living in a pandemic; we are living the pandemic. This means there are no breaks. There are no pauses. There are no escapes. Even when you get tired of living this way, you still have to do it. That makes things exhausting almost daily for some people. So where can people go for relief? When it all gets too much, how do you find rest? This is something many people have had to find the answer to during this time of isolation. Without a determined end in sight, it is crucial that people learn how to live in a world permanently changed. For some, this has taken a mental form in meditation, yoga, writing, art expression. For others, physical outlets such as running, lifting, creative ways to stay active, new sports, and more have helped give breaks from a crazy world. Most have tried many new hobbies with various successes and failures. On the other hand, for some, this has been the break. Without corporate ties and office hostages, people are finding themselves more relaxed now than they have been for years. Being home has opened families to more time together and opportunities to grow closer. Still, even these people, at times, find this new life exhausting. In all cases, too much of this pandemic is exhausting.
• 2020-10-19

  Civid 19 Home School Learning

  My experiences with virtually learning was good. First I would wake up at 7. Then I would take a shower and eat. After I ate, I would take my dog for a quick walk and come back home to start school. School wasn't that hard at home, or on zoom. One benefit of zoom school would be that once you done with class early you get extra time to relax. But at school you would still having to stay in class and do work. One obstacle of my remote learning was having to do engineering at home. The problem with that is that I didn't have some of the materials so I had to get created. But having to get creating taught me to improvise which kind of did help. So thats my experience with online learning.
• 2021-01-15

  Learning Virtually

  Have you ever done online learning? Well there is good and bad things about it. During when COVID first hit we were transitioned to online learning, it was a little hectic at first trying to figure everything out, but it wasn't the same. As of now we have done about 9 months of online learning. Some bad things are not being able to communicate with teachers or friends, turning in assignments, and even the learning itself. The first semester I was at a public school and we couldn't do much of online learning so we had very few assignments. Then in the fall of 2020, I moved to a private school where it was much better, but there was still some flaws. Some good things about online learning are if you finish class early you can take breaks, I don't have a problem with this but a lot of people do, you don't have to wake up as early when you are virtual, and finally you can get started on chores around the house if you have free time or relax. Overall, I thought it would be worse, but it wasn't too bad.
• 
  2020-11-02

  Bahamas Scraps COVID-19 Rapid Test for Travelers

  The Bahamas is desperate for tourism to supplement its economy. The rules previously in place pretty much stifled any tourism dollars that could enter the island. The new law is incredibly beneficial for that purpose and should allow tourism to regain traction. This is good for me. Maybe I might try to go visit my family.
• 
  2020-04-15

  Painting in Quarantine

  During quarantine, we were all very bored and going a little stir crazy. One day, I really wanted to get into painting because it is relaxing for me, and it takes up a lot of time. This is important to me because it was something during lockdown that made me feel relaxed and calm. It was a stressful time for everyone, and we all had to find hobbies that would keep us busy. I think that is what this says about the pandemic, we had to find these little things to keep us going throughout the long days stuck inside, and painting really helped me do that.
• 
  2020-05-20

  Escaping it All

  This tent is where my father and I slept for a couple of nights during the beginning of the pandemic. We camp a couple of times a year because it gets so hot in Phoenix, which is where we live. But this trip wasn't just a heat escape, it was break from all the noise and the fear in the world. We originally were going to an official campsite however they were all closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This didn't stop us though, we just began driving on random dirt paths with my 2004 Toyota Corolla. After probably 10 dirt roads we finally got lucky and found a place to set up camp. There were even a couple of other people camping, don't worry we kept our distance. There were some points when I thought we would have to call it quits but I am so glad we didn't. If you've never been camping I highly suggest you try it. It's a great place to just relax your mind and focus on the simple things in life. Which is why one of the first things we did was turn off our phones. Being able to just live in the moment is something I don't take for granted anymore. It's so easy to get caught up in news and media, but when you're out in the woods none of that applies to you for that time. My dad loves being outside in nature away from everything, but he has glaucoma and can't drive. I know how much these little trips mean to him. If it was up to my dad he would be camping for months at a time. He's retired so I can see why but I don't have the time to do so. I just want this to me a reminder that doing small stuff like this can really go a long way. Especially in times like these. Thank you for reading my story and I hope you all are doing well during these times.
• 
  2020-07-22

  Making the Best of Covid-19

  A group of friends buy kiddie pools to enjoy summer with after their community pool did not open die to coronavirus. I think this picture and article show how people made the best of the pandemic. It shows how even though the pandemic affected everyone in a negative way, there are still ways to make the best out of the situation.
• 
  2020-08-04

  Spencer Briscoe

  When ever I get stressed out or depressed I play music on one my instruments to relax. (that or I would play video games)
• 
  2020-05-26

  Isolation Entertainment

  A photo showing a slice of quince and apple pie and the set-up for the board game 'Wingspan,' both symbols of the happier moments of the pandemic for me. Staying at home has given me the opportunity to make ridiculous amounts of pie - something I've always wanted to do - and play ridiculous amounts of board game, which I've always loved. It's important to find things to enjoy right now, and these are some of mine.
• 
  2020-04-22

  Finally Getting to that 1,000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle of the Battle of Trafalgar

  Now that we are well into our second month of social distancing and isolation at home, we need to look for new ways to amuse ourselves during down-times. I'm getting tired of television programming and streamed videos. In our household, we've found that working on a jigsaw puzzle is a good way to relax for a few minutes between work, chores and other activities. I got this puzzle for Christmas a year or two ago, and it was forgotten in a closet until I discovered it and put it to use the other day.